1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shock absorber mount assembly for use on the upper end of a shock absorber in a motor vehicle suspension.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Shock absorbers in motor vehicle suspensions have an upper end coupled to a motor vehicle frame and a lower end to a member of the motor vehicle suspension. To attach the upper end of such a shock absorber to the motor vehicle frame, a vibration isolator is mounted on the upper end of the piston rod of the shock absorber, i.e., the shock absorber stud, and a retainer secured to the vibration isolator is fastened by bolts to the motor vehicle frame. Where a coil spring is disposed around the shock absorber, an upper spring seat engaging the upper end of the coil spring should be located as closely to the retainer as possible so as to employ a coil spring of an increased length, i.e., to provide a longer spring stroke while keeping the entire length of the shock absorber to a minimum.
West German Patent No. 2,820,585 discloses a shock absorber having an upper spring seat engaging the upper end of a coil spring and supported on a vibration isolator, the upper spring seat being positioned closely to a retainer on the distal end of the piston rod so that the coil spring used may be of an increased length. With this conventional structure, however, the vibration isolator should be of a large vibration isolating capability since the resilient forces from the coil spring act through the upper spring seat on the vibration isolator.